Weed Biology & Ecology

The Weed Biology and Ecology program addresses many of the most fundamental and challenging issues in weed science: What exactly is a weed? Why does a weed occur where it does? When does that weed species emerge? How fast will it grow and how many seeds will it produce? How many weeds does it take to cause crop yield losses and when does it pay to control them?

These are just some of the most common research questions we study in Agronomy at K-State to understand the biology and ecology of weeds in field crops, rangelands, and other ecosystems.

As we uncover the answers to these questions for important weed species such as Palmer amaranth, common sunflower, giant ragweed, and kochia, we can begin to develop improved weed control programs that meet economic and environmental goals for Kansas producers.

Current Projects:

  • Weed species impacts on crop yields
    • Palmer amaranth competition with corn in dryland and irrigated environments
    • Palmer amaranth competition with grain sorghum at different nitrogen levels
  • Population dynamics of common sunflower and giant ragweed
  • Influence of cover crops on Palmer amaranth and kochia emergence, growth, and seed production in no-till crop rotations
  • Influence of weed density on level of weed control with different herbicide rates

Research Faculty